The Dunbar Case

Cliff Hardy #38

by Peter Corris

This wasn't Hardy's usual brief - uncover the mysteries of a nineteenth-century shipwreck - but he could do with an easy case and the retainer was generous.

But is it ever that simple? Not with a notorious crime family tearing itself apart, and an undercover cop playing both sides against the middle. These and an alluring but fiercely ambitious female journalist give Hardy all the trouble he can handle.

'Ever feel manipulated?' Hardy asks. The body count mounts up as he pushes closer to the truth about the mystery and the loot.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Australia, Audiobook

243 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 2013

About the author

Peter Corris was an Australian academic, historian, journalist and a novelist of historical and crime fiction. His first novel was published in 1980. Corris is credited with reviving the fully-fledged Australian crime novel with local settings and reference points and with a series character firmly rooted in Australian culture, Sydney PI Cliff Hardy. As crime fiction writer, he was described as "the Godfather of contemporary Australian crime-writing".

He won the Lifetime Achievement award at the Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing in 1999 and was shortlisted for best novel in 2006 for Saving Billy and in 2007 for The Undertow.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really not sure how Peter Corris, or Cliff Hardy manage to keep up the pace, but I'm very very relieved they do, as the New Year tradition of a new Cliff Hardy book, a couch and the Test Cricket on the radio has become rather important over the last few years.

One of the most interesting aspects of THE DUNBAR CASE is the nature of the investigation - uncovering the mysteries of a nineteenth-century shipwreck isn't the sort of case that you'd expect to find in a modern day PI style novel. But as is often the way, it doesn't really matter what Hardy is called upon to look into, there's going to be a bit of huffing and puffing, lurking baddies, a love interest and a nicely staged battle that the good guys need to fight to win the day.

It's really a testament to the writing of this series that makes it work so well. Whilst there is now a slight tendency to pull a few physical punches just a little (Hardy's neither as young, or as fit as he used to be after all), everything else delivers in full throttle mode as usual. And in a tidy package of 243 so pages. A bit of a masterclass in getting to the point, staying there, and finishing it off without a lot of wandering about in the middle. Something I wish I could master in these reviews!

As usual you're not going to get an indepth look at the whys and wherefores of life, the universe and all the big questions. But with THE DUNBAR CASE you are going to get a tight, punchy, enjoyable PI novel with a central character that keeps on keeping on, and all power to him for it. Just the thing for a spot of entertaining, escapist reading regardless of where you are.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corris could churn out the crime/thriller. Number 38 in the Cliff Hardy series and there is no need to read any of the others to know the man, his background and his operational style.
Hardy takes a well paid "easy" job to interview a possible descendant of a long ago ship wreck. Murders start to occur, and the "easy" job takes many curves and challenges before a satisfying conclusion.

[Ron Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cliff Hardy No 38. What can one say? Firstly, I must express my unmitigated admiration for Peter Corris. I have recently read that because of failing eyesight Corris has written his last Cliff Hardy. Sad, but inevitable.
If you have never read a Cliff Hardy novel (If your over 30, where have you been for most of your life?) Well, this is as good as any where to start. I think this is about my sixth Hardy. So I still have a few to go.
The Dunbar Case starts out slowly. I was wondering where will the usual line-up of toughs come from? It soon moves away from being a search for historical documents into a full-blown array of crims and assorted bad guys.
The location moves from Sydney-Bathurst-Newcastle and back again. Corris gets the geography right. Cliff has an old flame in Newcastle and she is the mandatory love/sex interest for the high octane libido that Cliff is burdened with.
Cliff develops and interesting relationship with a guy who has recently been released from gaol.
I think it was a cop-out the way Hardy disposed of two characters through a car accident. I could not see the reason behind that.
Not Corris' best Hardy novel, but still enjoyable and enough excitement and tension to keep your interest.

[Biggus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story is pretty typical Hardy, but Dino Marnika is embarrassingly bad as a narrator, and made a decent book into a painful experience.

There are no words to describe how pathetic he is. I will never let him ruin a book again, ever.
I am clearly not alone here, these are some other comments on his horrendous reading (not on this book though!)
....
Can’t listen to it the way it is read sounds like it should be on Play School but the story would be ok if they had someone else reading it but I can’t listen to it

I liked this book it kept my interest. if I had to say one negative thing, it would be that I didn't like a man reading the female voices.

Seriously did audible think the narration was appropriate for the content ! I couldn’t get past the second chapter ... it’s like a wiggle was reading it!!!

The narrator is atrocious, I can't listen to it.. The book might be OK but don't waste your money on the dissapointment.

[DB Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is what it is, a quick crime read, a private detective and small time crooks. I felt as though the book was written much earlier than when it was published in 2013. I wonder whether references to contemporary technology and sensitivities were added in later. The GPS and smartphones could have easily been inserted. I don't think that Cliff Hardy would have even noticed if his client touched a waitress in the older books. But the Newcastle in the book is most definitely from a much earlier time. I also found it offputting that some of the geography was out of whack. You can't drive North past Nelson Bay and other Central Coast places then go inland. You're in the water Hardy. I wanted to like this more but a bit of research wouldn't have been that hard.

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished 11/13/2013. Cliff is hired by a history prof to talk w/a convicted felon about his family history. He is kidnapped from the prison parking lot an instructed to deliver a message when he next visits the perp. The ab-ductors are brothers, sons of a local crime lord. His local PIA contact is not helpful & is murdered after CH's visit. He goes to see if he can get info from a local reporter that loved his murdered lover. She is writing a book & has the CL as her informant. What follows is convoluted, but suspenseful and attention holding.

[Tim Harley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really love the Cliff Hardy books and enjoyed this one, however, I thought it strayed too far from the original plot line of the 19th Century Shipwreck which seemed so interesting and promising. Some anti-climatic moments with the back story soured what was set to be one of the best Hardy's yet. Still enjoyed parts though, so happy overall.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a let down at the end

[Jill Lawson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Peter Corris has apparently written 38 Cliff Hardy books. I wonder how he manages to keep his interest in the character as I am sick of him after one book!

[Gary Vassallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable Cliff Hardy adventure. I am glad Peter Corris wrote so many Cliff Hardy books as there are still plenty more for me to read.

[Sandy Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and half stars really - a later Cliff Hardy. Much of the action happens around Newcastle this time. Moves along well as usual but nothing is actually solved positively really.

[Alexandra Daw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't resist reading this. For a start it had "Dunbar" in the title which was the name of our holiday house for many years. And secondly it got a reasonably good review in the paper a couple of weeks back and sounded like my cup of tea - history with a bit of family history thrown in. I've never read Corris before and this is the latest in a long series of stories about PI Cliff Hardy. But I don't think you need to have read any of the others beforehand. I like Corris' easy style and enjoyed reading a tale set in familiar territory (Sydney, Newcastle etc) and the laconic humour. It's a swift read - not even 250 pages....I reckon you could knock it off in a day easily. Modern crime fiction.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite this being the 38th Cliff Hardy novel, Peter Corris manages to maintain a high standard and tell an interesting story. Cliff has moved upmarket to an office in Pyrmont and is once again fit and healthy following his previous heart surgery. When he takes on a contract to find some historical documents related to a 19th century shipwreck it all sounds relatively safe. The catch is that he needs to meet a man currently in prison who is also wanted by the Tanner family, a Soprano like crime family in Newcastle, who believe he knows something about some missing money. Matters escalate rapidly and Cliff soon finds himself in some sticky situations.

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dunbar Case is the thirty eighth book in the Cliff Hardy series set in Australia. It’s a fairly standard independent, headstrong, tough guy PI tale, where the lead character takes a bit of punishment, has a romantic fling, and somehow manages to survive the shenanigans in which he finds himself involved. The tale is more than a paint-by-numbers case, with Corris blending a historical and contemporary plotlines to good effect, but it did feel a little paint-by-numbers in style, lacking a certain edginess to the writing and relying on a few plot devices to tie things together. Overall, a competently told, entertaining PI tale from down under.

[Bruce McNair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cliff Hardy is a private detective who is hired by a professor of history at a small university to interview a descendant of one of the survivors of the Dunbar, which was wrecked trying to enter Sydney Harbour during a storm in the middle of the 19th century. However, the man he is to interview is in Bathurst Gaol for the grievous bodily harm assault on his partner. Then Cliff discovers that a criminal gang are after anybody trying to contact this man, including himself. What seemed like a simple case quickly becomes complicated.

It's a reasonable story but has a glaring loose end towards the end. I give it three stars out of five.

[Balthazar Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dunbar was a ship that sank in 1857 and that's about as much as the title has to do with the story. It's a starting point only and quickly pushed to the background as the real action is in a completely different direction.

There's plenty of action in this as Cliff Hardy is drawn into a crime family that is tearing itself apart. Although, all Cliff is interested in is his next payday and staying alive.

A good read.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Australian crime story was a quick and easy holiday read. A private detective hired to uncover historical information relating to the sinking of a ship, The Dunbar, from a particular family soon discovers there is more to this investigation then meets the eye when underbelly people get involved.

[Mumbler · Rating 3 out of 5]

the individual moments were decent Hardy, but as a whole, somewhat anticlimactic. some dissatisfaction is a genre convention, like The Maltese Falcon. I'll have to give it some time, to consider how much The Dunbar Case was just plain unsatisfying.

That's compared to the better ones in the series, which I'm a big fan of. It's still a pretty good private eye novel.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good holiday read. I appreciate the predictable integrity of Cliff Hardy and the fast paced twists and turns of the narrative. It is always pleasant to follow a mystery set in familiar places. The Dunbar mystery - my initial reason for choosing this title - was disappointingly peripheral to the novel.

[Micheal · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very average Hardy outing, with a convoluted plot and a lacklustre ending. The title is only tangential to the story, which is difficult to follow at times. Corris gets some facts wrong in places, like about caves. Some geography of Newcastle is off, or he just made it up.
Not his best work; there are better Hardy books than this one.

[Shirley Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy a Cliff Hardy story an this was no exception - good tight plot, good taut writing style, evil villains, a mature, sexy woman and set in places familiar to me. A bit of history thrown in made it even more enjoyable.

[Doug]

A 19th century ship wreck, a history professor wanting a legacy, a convict with a hidden treasure, a mob family and a private eye wanting to rekindle a relationship are the makings of a good story set in Australia. Enjoyed the the book.

[Robyn Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cliff is a private investigator and has been given a job by a Professor to find a manuscript that survived the sinking of the Dunbar off Sydney Heads. Based in Sydney and Newcastle. A crime family, an undercover cop, a bit of romance, goodies, baddies. A light read and entertaining.

[Cher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great fast paced read which I really enjoyed looking forward to next corris book.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable Cliff Hardy mystery. Number 38 I believe. I hope there are many more to come. My first ever completed ebook!

[Bev Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Peter Corris novel about PI Cliff Hardy. An interesting historical twist woven in to a fast paced novel.

[Kath Venables · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a great read

[Any Length · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy read and entertaining.
Just one gripe. There is no such thing as a Judo chop!
Never do they hit in Judo. Other martial arts yes, Judo - never!

[Lorraine Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good book from Peter.

[Doug Mitchell]

I am a big fan of the Cliff Hardy series for fun vacation reading!